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Improving follow-up rates by optimizing patient educational materials in retinopathy of prematurity
Haleigh McCahon1, Victoria Chen1, Elizabeth Fernandez Paz1
1Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.
Insights
Newly designed patient education materials significantly improved parent understanding of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and increased follow-up attendance. Health literacy-adherent resources are key for better ROP knowledge and compliance.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatrics
- Health Literacy
Background:
- Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a significant cause of vision impairment in premature infants.
- Effective patient education is crucial for ensuring timely follow-up care and management of ROP.
- Existing educational materials may not be optimized for health literacy, potentially hindering parent comprehension and engagement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of newly designed ROP educational materials, aligned with health literacy guidelines, on parental understanding.
- To assess the effect of these materials on parents' perception of follow-up care importance.
- To determine if the new materials improve outpatient follow-up attendance rates for infants at risk of ROP.
Main Methods:
- A repeated-measures study involving parents of premature infants at risk for ROP.
- Redesigned ROP educational materials adhering to NIH and AMA reading level guidelines.
- Pre- and post-intervention surveys assessing ROP knowledge and perceived importance of follow-up, comparing new materials to existing AAPOS materials.
Main Results:
- Parental ROP knowledge scores significantly improved with both material sets (P < 0.001).
- New materials yielded higher post-survey knowledge scores compared to AAPOS materials (91.8% vs 83.7%, P < 0.001).
- Follow-up attendance rates improved significantly in the new materials group (80.0% vs 68.2%, P = 0.008).
Conclusions:
- Health literacy-adherent educational materials significantly enhance parental understanding of ROP.
- Improved knowledge and engagement through effective materials lead to better follow-up compliance.
- The redesigned, health literacy-focused materials are superior in improving ROP knowledge and attendance rates.
Purpose:
To examine the impact of newly designed retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) patient educational materials adherent to health literacy guidelines on improving parent understanding of ROP, perceived importance of follow-up care, and subsequent outpatient follow-up attendance rates.
Methods:
This was a repeated-measures study of parents of premature infants at risk for developing ROP. ROP educational materials were redesigned to adhere to current NIH and AMA reading level guidelines. Participants completed surveys that assessed understanding of ROP and perceived importance of clinic follow-up before and after receiving either materials currently available on the website of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS), or the newly designed materials. Results were analyzed to evaluate for an improvement in parent knowledge of ROP and follow-up compliance.
Results:
Parent ROP knowledge scores improved significantly after receiving educational materials for both the AAPOS materials (55.9% vs 83.7% [P < 0.001]) and the new materials (60.9% vs 91.8% [P < 0.001]). Average post-survey ROP knowledge scores were significantly higher among participants that received the new materials compared to the AAPOS materials (91.8% vs 83.7%, [P < 0.001]). Follow-up attendance rates improved in both groups, with a significantly improved rate from pre-study baseline among the new materials group (80.0% vs 68.2%, [P = 0.008).
Conclusions:
Implementation of educational materials significantly improved parent understanding of ROP; combined with knowledge assessment, it also improved follow-up compliance. Materials designed to adhere to health literacy guidelines are the most effective resources for improving knowledge of ROP and follow-up attendance.
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